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The Internet brings more harm than good
The Internet brings more harm than good - 10/23/2007 (https://www.debate.org/debates/The-Internet-brings-more-harm-than-good/1/) Instigator: ashwinrk92 (Pro) Contender: Harlan (Con) Round 1 ashwinrk92: "Good morning I bid to the Madam Speaker, righteous adjudicators, honourable timekeeper, my fellow comrades, doomed adversaries, and members of the floor. I am here today as the Prime Minister of the government bench to construct the debate on the topic the Internet brings more harm than good. The parameter of this topic is global. The Internet's definition by wikipedia is a "network of networks". The Internet has brought a lot of good points, but as with any tool, I would like to add that misuse has made the Internet bad. Remember, the Internet is a useful tool, but all that glitters is not gold. Firstly, the Internet is a place which is NOT safe for children. This is basically because of threats of pop-ups, pornography and scams that can trick the child. The Internet is not only an unsafe place for children, but also a bad influence to young teenagers. Pornography from the Internet is leading to the rise of a society of perverts, paedophiles and freaks, who are unable to contain their sexual desires. The number of rape cases this year in Malaysia alone has shocked officials and even the Prime Minister. Teenagers are the group targeted by the Internet. 28% of teenagers globally watch pornography. This might be a minority of people, but the way Internet has affected us in such a way is shocking. The bad effect on the younger generation, our future leaders, is undeniable. Do keep in mind that the presence of "net-nannies" and safesearch programs does not deter our children as 20% of the so called "bad" side of the Internet is overlooked by safesearch programs. However, 10% of non-harmful content such as "breast cancer" on the internet is filtered by the safesearches used to deter pornography. Clearly, we are unable to thwart the attempts of people to find what they want, as these days, even young children are IT educated and can build and dismantle firewalls with ease, as their parents struggle to build them to protect them. Pornographers have been going in overdrive due to the availability of the Internet, and it is used to spread the word of their porn sites. Following statistics by both secular and religious bodies, pornography is now more American than apple pie! 2006 and 2005 statistics show that the US porn revenue earns more than the top companies (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft,Amazon,eBay,Apple,Netflix and Earthlink put together! I am now open to questions. With that, I thank you." Harlan: "Hello, I am intrigued by your opinion. The idea that the internet would be better off not existing because some people look at porn is like saying: "Cameras bring more harm than good because they are used to take photos of pornography" The large amount of pornography is merely a sad side affect of the vast database that is the internet. This has little or no effect on big issues. I find it INCREDIBLY ironic that you are using the internet to communicate your ideas about how you believe the internet is harmful. Before the internet, how would you communicate this idea to anyone? I can see that you obviously take the internet for granted. I would like to point out how the internet has changed our world: -It is good for communication. You can instantaneously transmit something from opposite sides of the world. It can transport ideas and information faster than ever. If an innovative idea shows up on one side of the world, the whole world can no about it. -It is very important for obtaining information. Before the internet, the only way you could quickly learn some fact or another that you are curious about is to go to the library, and that information is extremely limited compared to the internet. Say I watch a movie and I recognize an actor. I could go on imdb in 5 seconds and learn who it was. -It has globalized the world. -It has helped the economy. Online business such as eBay allows people to sell stuff to each other easily. Using paypal, you can digitally transmit money from place to place. There is no doubt that the internet has made life easier, all over the globe. Sure, a couple of people look at pornography, but I think the advantages far outweigh this. Anyone, anyone with an internet access can come and look at these ideas we are now presenting. If you had it in your power, would you choose to not build the internet, linking the whole world, just because of porn sites? If it is so harmful, then why do you have an internet connection in your house to post these debates? And lastly, just for amusement: "the Internet is not something that you just dump something on. It's not a big truck. It's a series of tubes. And if you don't understand, those tubes can be filled" -Sen. Ted Stevens"